Rule 360-6-.05 - Supervised Practice of Acupuncture(1) Any person licensed to practice acupuncture under the Act ("practitioner") who has less than one (1) year of postgraduate clinical experience may not practice on his or her own unless and until such person has completed one (1) year of active clinical practice under the supervision of a duly licensed acupuncturist. The supervising acupuncturist ("supervisor") shall be currently licensed in Georgia and shall have four (4) years of active licensed clinical experience as an acupuncturist in Georgia or a combination of four (4) years experience in other states or countries as long as the other states or countries substantially equal or exceed Georgia's standards for licensure of acupuncturists.(2) The supervision of postgraduate clinical practice of an acupuncture practitioner shall comply with the following provisions and guidelines. (a) Definitions: 1. "Practitioner" is the person who is being supervised and monitored by the supervisor while performing acupuncture during postgraduate clinical practice.2. "Supervisor" is the acupuncturist who meets the qualifications of this rule and the applicable statute who is responsible for the supervision of the practitioner during supervised postgraduate clinical practice.3. "Supervised postgraduate clinical practice" is the practice of acupuncture performed by a practitioner under the direct supervision of an approved acupuncturist in facilities approved by the Georgia Composite Medical Board ("Board"), in consultation with the Acupuncture Advisory Committee ("Advisory Committee"), pursuant to the provisions of O.C.G.A. § 43-34-64(c) and this rule.(b) Supervisor: A supervisor shall be approved to supervise a practitioner by the Board, in consultation with the Advisory Committee. The supervisor must be licensed in Georgia as an acupuncturist and actively practicing in this state. The supervisor shall have no less than four (4) years of active licensed clinical experience as an acupuncturist. The four (4) years of active licensed clinical experience may be four (4) combined years of active licensed practice in Georgia or in other states or countries as long the standards for licensure of acupuncturists in said states or countries are substantially equivalent to or exceed the standards of licensure in Georgia.(c) Supervision: The supervisor and practitioner who are engaged in supervised post clinical practice shall adhere to the following guidelines: 1. Plan of supervision: (i) The supervisor shall submit a letter of intent and a written outlined plan of supervision to the Board, which shall be reviewed and approved by the Board, in consultation with the Advisory Committee, before supervised practice is begun.(ii) The supervisor must be present on site and available at all times while the practitioner is seeing and treating patients. The practitioner shall practice in the same office with the supervisor.(iii) A supervisor may not enter into a plan of supervision with more than two practitioners at a time.2. Monitoring: The supervisor shall monitor no less than one (1) supervised patient treatment performed by the practitioner no less than every other week or bi-weekly. Monitoring shall include case review, supervision of safety procedures, clean needle technique, and assessment of professionalism of the practitioner.3. Records: (i) Patient treatment records: The supervisor shall keep written records of the supervised patient treatments by the practitioner and shall submit a summary of the patient treatment records along with quarterly reports to the Board for its review, in consultation with the Advisory Committee. The records shall include any information relevant to patient treatment that is included in the monitoring by the supervisor of the practitioner.(ii) Practice records:I. For supervisory purposes, practice is defined as performing a minimum of 500 acupuncture treatments on at least 100 different patients during a one (1) year or twelve (12) months supervised clinical period. Substance abuse or detoxification treatments are not acupuncture treatments for the purposes of supervised postgraduate clinical acupuncture practice.II. Full and complete records with all relevant and supportive documentation are to be kept at the site of treatment at all times and made available to the Board for review and inspection. Records shall include, but not be limited to, appointment schedules, patient records, treatment records, receipts, and data pertaining to invoice and payment for acupuncture treatment.4. Reports: (i) Quarterly reports: Quarterly reports shall be submitted to the Board by the supervisor and shall include the performance, progress and understanding of basic skills of the practitioner. The report shall also include the number of patients that the practitioner has seen per month and the number of acupuncture treatments provided by the practitioner. Quarterly reports shall be filed with the Board and are due three, six, nine, and twelve months after provisional licensure issue date.(ii) Final supervisory report: At the end of the probationary period, a final review from the supervisor shall be submitted about the practitioner's progress with a recommendation to the Board regarding fitness of the practitioner to practice acupuncture as a solo practitioner. The report shall be reviewed by the Advisory Committee and a recommendation made by the Advisory Committee concerning Board action.(d) Provisions regarding supervised practice may also be used as guidelines for restrictions placed upon the practice of acupuncture by persons licensed by the Board as authorized by statute.(e) Failure to adhere to guidelines regarding supervised postgraduate clinical practice may result in sanctions, restrictions, or disciplinary actions upon licensees by the Board.Ga. Comp. R. & Regs. R. 360-6-.05
O.C.G.A. Secs. 43-34-5, 43-34-63, 43-34-64.
Original Rule entitled "Supervised Practice of Acupuncture" adopted as ER. 360-6-0.10-.05. F. Aug. 10, 2000; eff. Aug. 21, 2000, as specified by the Agency.Amended: Permanent Rule of same title adopted. F. Nov. 20, 2000; eff. Dec. 10, 2000.Repealed: New Rule of same title adopted. F. Jan. 16, 2001; eff. Feb. 5, 2001.Repealed: New Rule of same title adopted. F. May 26, 2004; eff. June 15, 2004.Amended: F. June 23, 2008; eff. July 13, 2008.Repealed: New Rule of same title adopted. F. Oct. 6, 2009; eff. Oct. 26, 2009.